ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Juan Encarnacion will miss the remainder of the season after sustaining multiple fractures of his left eye socket and a serious eye injury when struck by a foul ball Friday night.
| GM | HR | RBI | R | OBP | AVG |
| 78 | 9 | 47 | 43 | .324 | .283 |
The team said in a release Saturday that Encarnacion was in the hospital for continued observation, evaluation and treatment. The statement also said he would be re-evaluated every day to assess the severity of the injury, and that his long-term prognosis was "undetermined at this time."
Encarnacion was struck while waiting in the on-deck circle in the sixth inning of Friday's game against the Cincinnati Reds. He was about to pinch hit and had no time to react when Aaron Miles was late on an 0-1 outside pitch from left-hander Jon Coutlangus.
Encarnacion was down for several minutes, flipping his helmet off his head while blood dripped from his nose, before two trainers assisted him off the field.
Teammates were shaken by the incident during an 8-5 victory keyed by Rick Ankiel's first career grand slam later in the sixth. Center fielder Jim Edmonds helped assist Encarnacion to the clubhouse.
It's about as bad as it gets as far as what you can see on a baseball field. I think it's everybody's biggest fear.
--Jim Edmonds
"It's about as bad as it gets as far as what you can see on a baseball field," Edmonds said. "I think it's everybody's biggest fear.
"That's why there's so many arguments and fights, over balls being thrown up and in. It's scary."
The ball struck Encarnacion with enough force that it rolled several feet in the opposite direction. After fouling off the pitch, Miles looked over and saw that Encarnacion was down.
Encarnacion, who missed the first 1½ months recovering from wrist surgery, hit .283 with nine homers and 47 RBIs.
Ankiel narrowly missed getting struck by a foul ball during his at-bat in the eighth when David Eckstein swung late on a pitch.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Source: ESPN.com
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